In this article I will conclude my series on attachment and begin examining the relationship between attachment and behavioral inhibition

In this article I will conclude my series on attachment and begin examining the relationship between attachment and behavioral inhibition

In this article I will conclude my previous series on attachment and begin examining the relationship between attachment and behavioral inhibition (BI). My hope is to highlight that, although both have been investigated independently, few studies have examined the association between them.

Overall, compared to healthy control mothers, it appears that depressed and anxious mothers are more likely to have infants who have an insecure attachment style. Further, it appears that those children with an insecure attachment style are more likely to develop both internalizing and externalizing disorders. While some research points to a specific association between resistant attachment style and the development of anxiety disorders, this has not been conclusively established.

A striking contrast appears when examining the effect of attachment on children’s behavior in low and high risk samples (Shaw, & Vondra, 1995). Studies involving low-risk populations have found little effect of attachment on the development of behavior problems, while those of children in at-risk populations have found larger effects (DeKlyen, 1996). Therefore, while attachment appears to have an impact on child behavior, that effect appears to be increased when occurring in tandem with other risk factors (e.g. low SES). Thus, the association between attachment and behavior inhibition has been examined. Further, interactions between BI and infant attachment, and their effects on child anxiety symptoms, have been examined.

The similarities between BI and infant attachment style are apparent in their definition, as well as how they are measured. Muris and Meesters (2002) explained that the two measures share important characteristics. First, they both use scenarios which involve measuring children’s reactions to unfamiliar situations. Second, they both refer to children’s behavior in social situations. Therefore, the relationship between these two measures has been examined.

Burgess, Marshall, Rubin, & Fox (2003) measured BI in a laboratory setting and infant attachment using the SSP, both at 24 months of age. A significant association was not found between the measures. These findings are similar to those of other studies which used the same procedure to measure both BI and attachment (e.g. Marshall & Fox 2005; Pauli-Pott, Haverkock, Pott, & Beckmann 2007; Kochanska, Aksan & Carlson 2008). These findings suggest that when BI and attachment are measured in a laboratory and using the SSP, respectively, they appear to be independent from each other.